Musical instrument



J. LE R. BANKS 1,798,055

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT March 24, 1931.

Original Filed Nov. '7, 1928 1| l All I 5 la BY TTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 24, 1931 UNITED STATES JOSEPH LE ROY BANKS, OF BALTIMORE; MARYLAND MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Application filed November 7, 1928, Serial No. 317,762. Renewed August 15, 1930.

The invention concerns musical instruments of the type employing a reed carrier, a perforated music sheet and a casing carrying said parts, the musical tones being produced by the user blowing through, or creating suction through the casing of the instrument and past the reeds.

The invention consists in the features and combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a central vertical section of the instrument.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of part of the easing at right angles to Fig. 1.

Fig. 8a is a View of portion of the tone producing unit.

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of a portion of the upper section of the instrument.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of part of the casing, similar to Fig. 1 with the music sheet and tone producing unit omitted.

The casing is made of an upper section 1 and a lower section 2, preferably of molded bakelite. Each section has recesses at 1a, 2a, which jointly form substantially cylindrically shaped pockets in which are contained the rolls 3 for the perforated note sheet 4:.

There is a mouth piece 5 formed centrally of the upper section whose wall at 6 is in re-entrant relation to the portions of the casing enclosing the roll receiving pockets. There is also a re-entrant wall 7 at the middle of the lower section of the casing. These walls provide between them the contracted passage 8 through which the note sheet passes from one roll to the other. The re-entrant relation of the lower wall 7 provides a recess 9 at the bottom and outside of the lower section of the casing for receiving the tone producing unit made up, like in a mouth organ, of a wooden body member 10 having wind chests, one of which is indicated at 11, with slotted reed plates 12 carrying reeds 13.

The end walls 14 defining the ends of the recess 9 are provided with seats or guide ways 15 into which the tone producing unit with its attached reed plates, reeds and guard plates 16 is slipped and thereafter fastened by tacks or pins 17.

The body 10 of the unit with its reed plates is of such proportion that it projects through the re-entrant wall 7 of the lower section of the casing, which is provided with a slot or elongated opening at 18 to receive said unit. Further the unit is of such proportions that when in place its upper end projects across the restricted passage 8 within the casing, and up into a channel or recess extending in the wall of the upper casing section and at each side of and communicating with the opening through the mouth piece, as shown at 19. This inner end of the unit serves as the tracker bar over which the note sheet passes. In order to get the best eflect in this regard this inner end of the unit 10 is provided with a sheet metal cap member 20 which rests on the end of the unit with cork packing 21 between to make an air tight joint.

The cap has flanges reaching down alongside the end of the unit and these flanges may grip friction tight so that no other fastening means is required for holding the cap in place.

This tracker board end of the unit reaches up into the channel or recess 19, 19 hence the note sheet finds a bearing at 22 at the corner of the wall defining the recess in addition to the bearing afforded by the tracker board cap. This causes a slight bend in the sheet and a firm contact between the note sheet and the tracker board surface.

This prevents leakage and discord particularly during suction exerted through the mouth piece.

The relation of the parts is such that the reeds lie outside the casing in the re-entrant angle 9, and this is true also of the sheet, metal guards 16.

Any suitable means may be employed, such as cranks for operating the rolls.

The two sections of the casing are hinged together at a, and when closed they are held by a clip I). hen the two sections are swung apart access to the interior parts may be had.

In assembling: the body of the unit is in! serted through the wall of the casing and then the corkwasher and the metallic cap are placed in position, it being noted that the opening in the casing is of such size that the body of the instrument fits this opening snugly.

I claim:

1. A musical instrument having a casing, with a note sheet therein and rolls, a mouth piece on the casing, a tone producing unit comprising a body with reeds carried thereby, said unit extending with its body through the wall of the casing and providing a tracker board surface at its inner end on which the note sheet rests, the reeds being located outside the casing. I

2. A musical instrument according to claim 1 in which the casing has a re-entrant wall through which the said tone producing unit extends with the reeds located in the reentrant angle formed by said wall, substantially as described.

3. A musical instrument according to claim 1 in which the inner end of the unit projects across the space within the casing, the opposite wall having a recess for receiving said end, said recess communicating with the opening through the mouth piece, substantially as described. 7

4. A musical instrument according to claim 1 in which the unit projects across the interior space of the casing, the opposite wall having a recess receiving said projecting end and with the walls defining said recess serving as bearings for deflecting the note sheet adjacent said projecting end on which the note sheet rests.

5. A musical instrument according to claim 1 in which the end of theunit which projects into the casing has a perforated cap member thereon serving as a tracker board, substantially as described.

6. A musical instrument having a casing provided with a mouth piece and pockets for note sheet rolls on opposite sides of said mouth piece, said casing having its walls closer together at the region between the pockets than at said pockets to form a narrow passage between said pockets, a tone producing unit having its body portion extending through the wall of the casing and projecting into said narrow passage to provide a tracker board upon which the note sheet rests, said unit having reeds on the outer side of the casing, substantially as described.

7. A musical instrument according to claim 1 in which the casing is made in sections divided from each other in a plane at right angles to the plane in which the instrument projects into the interior of the casing.

8. A musical instrument comprising a casing with a mouth piece opening thereinto, a sound producing unit having reeds, the end of said unit furnishing a tracker board surface, a' note sheet with rolls for holding the sheet extending over the track board surface, same, means for operating the rolls, said note said tracker board surface extending overv the tracker board surface, said tracker board surface extending into the inner recess of the mouth piece, and a bearing at the inner end of the mouth piece at each side of the tracker board with which the note sheet contacts, whereby-the note sheet is held to said tracker board.

9. A musical instrument having a casing with a note sheet therein and rolls, said casing being composed of upper and lower sections, the lower section having a reentrant wall forming pockets for the rolls, and providing a comparatively narrow space between its upper portion and the wall of the upper section for the passage of the note sheet, tone producing means in the space formed by said reentrant wall and outside the same, and a tracker board with which the tone producing means communicates, said tracker board being above the plane of separation between the upper and lower sections of the casing, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

JOSEPH LE ROY BANKS. 

